Thoughts (and occasionally fuming) about the state of science, fiction, and science fiction.

by author and technologistEdward M. Lerner

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Yippee ki-yay

A roundup from the fringes of physics ...

Do magnetic monopoles exist? (Think of a magnetic monopole as a tiny north pole without a matching south pole, or vice versa -- even though bisecting a bar magnet always produces two smaller bar magnets, each with a north and a south pole.) No magnetic monopole has ever been detected, but some post-Standard Model (hence, speculative) theories of particle physics allow for magnetic monopoles. Here's one more notion about how -- if magnetic monopoles are real -- we might detect them: "Can corkscrewing lasers solve an enduring particle physics mystery?"

Part of ITER, under construction

Will we ever have fusion reactors? It seems like controlled fusion technology has been twenty years into our future for at least fifty years. The latest forecast for international science's premier fusion project (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, aka ITER) is again forecasting success in about twenty years (2035, to be precise). See "ITER Council endorses updated project schedule."
With the recent publication of a single peer-reviewed paper on the topic of the supposedly reactionless EM (electromagnetic) drive, a slew of pop-sci papers on the topic have also appeared. It's always possible -- and exciting! -- to discover that something we thought we understood isn't quite so. (As in, for example, Einstein's centuries-after extensions to, and recasting of, Newton's theory of gravity.) It's also wise to take surprising claims with a grain of salt. (Remember the brouhaha a few years back about FTL neutrinos? That assertion, ultimately was debunked on account of a loose cable in an experimental setup.) See "How Physics Falls Apart If The EM drive Works." A key quote:

The problem isn't that these laws [e.g., Newton's three laws of motion] couldn't be overturned by experiment;
of course they could. The problem is that physicists have performed so
many experiments in so many different ways, so carefully and with such
precision verifying them. These conservation laws have been confirmed
for every gravitational, mechanical, electromagnetic and quantum
interaction ever observed. And now, it's claimed that an engine, one
that relies on nothing more than a simple electromagnetic power source,
overthrows all of physics. And the NASA Eagleworks test confirms, in a
peer-reviewed paper, that thrust is produced with no discernible
reaction for the action observed.

From Wikipedia

IMO, nothing in physics is weirder than quantum mechanics, and among the weird (but confirmed -- see, for example, the Casimir effect) predictions of QM is that empty space isn't, well, truly empty. QM permits spontaneous energy fluctuations in the nothingness, as long as they are sufficiently brief (this is an alternate form of the famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle). And, it seems, those weird fluctuations result in -- surprise -- weird effects. As in:

"First signs of weird quantum property of empty space?" (The takeaway: According to QED, a highly magnetised vacuum behaves as a prism for the propagation of light, an effect known as vacuum birefringence [where QED, or quantum electrodynamics, marries QM and relativistic electromagnetic theories.])

What to read?

Non-US shoppers

Featured Post: A Milestone

On October 16, 2007, Fleet of Worlds was first published. That is: ten years ago to the day. Larry and Ed at 2015 Nebula weekend This...

Energized (Newly reissued!)

"A taut near-future thriller about an energy-starved Earth held hostage by a power-mad international cartel … Lerner’s vision of the future is both topical and possible in this crisp, fast-paced hard SF adventure.” —Publishers Weekly

Dark Secret (my latest)

"I heartily recommend Ed Lerner's Dark Secret" — Tangent Online

InterstellarNet: Enigma (I-Net #3)

"One of the most rewarding SF reading experiences anyone could ask for, on both an intellectual and emotional level." — Tangent Online

InterstellarNet: Origins (I-Net #1)

"One of the most original, believable, thoroughly thought-out, and utterly fascinating visions ever of what interstellar contact might really be like."— Stanley Schmidt, editor of Analog

A Time Foreclosed

"A nice little foray into the paradoxes of time travel" — SFRevu

Fate of Worlds (FOW #5)

“Brings to a stunning close a multivolume saga that has captured the imaginations of a multitude of readers … a story that will attract attention from series fans as well as readers of hard sf.” — Library Journal

Juggler of Worlds (FoW #2)

“A snazzy thriller/mystery that keeps us (and our hero) guessing until the very end ... Wide screen galactic scope, nifty super-science, crafty aliens, corporate corruption and cover ups, and a multi-leveled spy vs. spy vs. spy mystery with little being as it first appears make Juggler of Worlds a first class exemplar of pure SF entertainment.” —SFsite

Fleet of Worlds (FoW #1)

" ... Needs recommending within the science fiction community about as much as a new Harry Potter novel does – well, anywhere." —Locus

ARMAGEDDON / PARADISE -- two books in one

"A romp through time and history ... an intriguing selection." — Bookloons

Small Miracles

"Suspense and action enough to fuel any thriller, and even to drive it to the big screen." —SFrevu

Fools' Experiments

“When the artificial intelligences ... go maverick, they turn out to be the true weapons of mass destruction. A fast, fun read.” — Sci Fi Weekly

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About Me

I'm a physicist and computer scientist (and an MBA, of less relevance to most of these posts). After thirty years in industry, as everything from individual technical contributor to senior vice president, I now write full-time. Mostly I write science fiction and techno-thrillers, now and again throwing in a straight science or technology article.